Selecting a Major

How to Choose     Choosing the Difficult One     I Know What I Want     I Don't Know

How do I choose a Major within the broad field of biology?

The Biology Department at GCC offers two majors: Molecular Biology and 'straight' Biology.  The Chemistry Department also offers two majors: Biochemistry and 'straight' Chemistry.  With essentially three options within the Biology field (Biochemistry, Molecular Biology, Biology), it may seem confusing knowing which option to select.

Realize you can switch majors.  Also, you can take courses in a major without actually being in that major - this is a good way to 'test the waters' before 'taking the plunge' and doing all the work without knowing if that's what you want to do.

Choosing the correct major for you is a multifactorial task.  Ask yourself the following series of questions:

• What do I want to do with a degree in Biology?
• Why am I drawn to Biology as a field?
• What are my particular strengths in the biological sciences?
• What impact will my choice of a major have on what I want to do after I graduate?

How you answer these questions honestly will help you in considering your choice of major.

Shouldn't I select the most difficult or most glamorous major - doesn't that look better?

This may be your impression, but I am not at all convinced that the choice ought to be the 'hardest' major.  Sometimes I get the idea that students choose the harder major, not out of a love for the subject, but because they want to seem more impressive, perhaps to potential employers or graduate programs, but also often to their peers.  These are poor reasons for choosing a major.

One result may be that the 'all-important QPA' gets hammered by your grades in some courses.  This is an avoidable and unnecessary consequence of a misplaced desire to look good. 

What if I know what I want to do?

If you already know what you want to do after your Bachelor's degree, then consult materials for that field.  Then, using that information (on prerequisites, etc.), select the major that allows you to fulfill those prerequisites most effectively.  

What if I don't know what I want to do with my Biology degree?

A piece of advice I received early on in my education was 'keep your options open'  This advice was very wise, and not at all unBiblical.  The upshot is, keep your undergraduate education as broad as your potential interests.  For most people with biological interests, then, the best option (IMHO) is to select the 'straight' biology major.  For those with a molecular interest, consider the molecular biology major.  In neither case, however, is the choice automatic.  Nor does choosing one major preclude options in the other major.